The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Organizations use business intelligence (BI) as part of a business process. A business process is a set of linked activities that create value by transforming an input information into an output information that is more valuable to the organization. In most organizations this process is very informal. It is not documented and it is performed manually. Although it is possible to document and provide automation aids for the use of business intelligence within a process, it is not cost effective to do this using current technology.
Business processes are typically categorized into operational processes and management processes. Operational processes create the primary value stream of the business of the organization. Typical operational processes relate to transaction activities, such as purchasing, manufacturing, marketing, and sales. Management processes are the processes that govern the operation of the organization, such as corporate governance and strategic management.
Operational processes are often automated using a custom developed applications or pre-packaged enterprise applications. Custom developed applications are created using a general purpose programming language or special purpose Business Process Management software.
Some management processes have been automated in the same way, but these methods are not well suited to the automation of management processes. Management processes tend to be more volatile than operational processes. These processes often involve exception management. Although it is a lot faster to automate processes using special purpose Business Process Management software than using a traditional programming language, it still takes too long to automate processes and once implemented, the automated processes take too long to change.
It is therefore desirable to provide a mechanism that can provide efficient management for business management processes that can be easily changed.